9 dollars for heavenly bliss
by shadow0night
Summary: Takes place some time before season 3's finale. Just a short story that came to me, while on a long car trip.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Supernatural or any character from the show, Supernatural. They belong to Kripke and crew. I'm also not getting any financial benefits, by posting this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

/SN/

Dean and Sam had been on the road, for close to four hours. They had finished their last hunt and had been forced to leave town, without getting a chance to clean up properly. They had managed to make certain that they hadn't left anything behind; but, they hadn't had a chance to clean off the dirt and monster entrails and blood, which covered both of them. In order to ensure the demise of the beast, the brothers had been forced to use some explosives. While the explosives were effective in killing the thing, the explosives had also been effective in drawing unwanted attention from the police. Fortunately, the brothers had been able to quickly leave the site of the explosion. However, with the police looking for whoever was behind the messy and loud commotion, the brothers had only had time to empty their hotel room and hit the road. Dean had focused on using back roads and side streets, for their escape. And since these roads tended to have slower speed limits, it had taken longer to put a decent amount of distance between them and their last hunt. After Dean felt that they were no longer in jeopardy of being caught, Dean took a better look at Sam and himself. Dean realized that miraculously they had finished the hunt uninjured; however, they hadn't finished the hunt totally unscathed. He could see and smell the remnants, of the monster, which stubbornly clung to both brothers. Dean could easily have overlooked the dirt which was caked on them. However, the monster's remains had a very distinct odor, which made it impossible to ignore.

"Dude, you stink."

Sam turned his head and directed an incredulous look at Dean. "What?!"

"I said, 'you stink.' When you get out of this car, you better take that stench with you. I don't want my baby smelling bad."

Sam slowly shook his head. In a low voice, he said, "I'm not the only one who smells around here."

"What did you say?" Dean asked with a bit of a threatening tone in his voice.

"Nothing." Sam watched Dean, in order to try and gauge what Dean's mood really was.

"That's what I thought. I still want to drive a bit further, before we call it a night. But, your little B.O. problem is threatening to cause my baby's leather to curl. I'm thinking that we should find some place to clean up a bit, before this stench takes up permanent residence in the car." Dean's eyes had softened, as he looked over at his brother and waited to hear his brother's reply.

"Sounds good to me. Although, can I suggest we stop somewhere that has a shower or something. As thick as this stuff is, I don't think I'll be able to do a decent job, by simply washing up at a sink."

"Would you prefer to run through a car wash?"

"Jerk." Sam said, as he rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Dean knew that they were limited on cash. He knew that they didn't have enough money to stop at a hotel, just to use a shower, and still have enough money to stay at a hotel that night. He had a credit card; but, he had just used it for their last hunt and didn't want to risk using it again. On occasion in the past, they had found themselves having to use a restroom sink to wash up at. However, Dean had to agree with Sam, that this grime just wouldn't come off with a makeshift sponge bath. Dean tried to think of some way to solve this little dilemma. Just then, the solution presented itself. Off in the distance, Dean saw a large sign that advertised a traveler's plaza. Dean was still on a side street; but, the street wasn't far from a major highway and the plaza was not far from the exit ramp for the highway. Dean directed the Impala, in the direction of the plaza. When Sam saw where they were headed, a small smile appeared on his face.

"Do you think they have showers?" Sam asked hopefully.

"They better. Otherwise, we may have no choice but to use a car wash." Dean replied. Dean looked down at himself and judged his appearance. He was wearing dark colored clothes and the monster's blood had dried and now blended in with the dirt, which covered Dean's clothes. Dean decided that he could probably come up with a decent cover story and decided that he would be the one to enquire about the showers.

As they pulled into the plaza's parking lot, the brothers saw a sign saying that there were showers. Upon seeing the sign, both brothers breathed a sigh of relief. Neither of them had liked the idea of having to stand at a sink and try to scrub the grime off. As planned, Dean was the one to enter the plaza and purchased two showers at 9.00 each. Since the place had speakers inside and outside its building, the brothers choose to wait in the Impala, so as to avoid any unwanted attention. When purchasing the showers, Dean had come up with a plausible excuse that the brothers had been hunting and needed to get washed up, before getting home. Fortunately, it was hunting season in the area, and Dean wasn't the first "hunter" who had come to the plaza to use its showers. The attendant didn't even give Dean a second glance, as he handed Dean tokens for the showers and gave him his numbers in line.

Both brothers anxiously waited for the numbers to be called. Dean had given Sam the first number, since he wanted to ensure that Sam got in to take a shower without any trouble. Dean's clothes helped hide the blood; but, Sam's lighter colored pants didn't hide the blood as well. When Sam's number was called, Dean saw him enter the shower area without drawing any unwanted attention. As Dean waited for his number to be called, he saw hunters pull in, with dead deer in the back of their trucks, and realized why the attendant hadn't questioned Dean's explanation and why no one had paid any attention to his brother's appearance.

When Dean's number was called, he almost joyfully jogged in. He hadn't realized how bad the grime was and how badly it had caked on, until he was waiting for his turn in the shower. While he had been driving, he had been focused on putting some distance between them and their last hunt. And although he had known he was dirty, he had been more aware of the smell, instead of the dirt. But now, as he prepared to step into the shower, not only was he aware of the stench; but, he was even more aware of how uncomfortable the grime felt on him.

Dean stood under the hot water and relished every moment. He could feel his neck muscles relax and heard and felt the discs, in his neck, pop as they were released from the once tightly knotted muscles. Blissfully, Dean slowly rolled his neck and shoulders. Until that moment, he hadn't realized how tight his muscles had been. Leaning his head back a bit, he allowed the hot water to flow over his head and face. He let his hands hang loosely at his sides and allowed the water to do all the work. He could feel the water run down his body. Without opening his eyes, he knew that the water was clearing away the remnants, of the last hunt. He could feel the grime losing its hold on his body, as the hot water effectively forced the grime to lose its grip on Dean. The running water did a much more efficient job of removing the filth, than he could have done had he been simply standing at a sink and trying to clean himself. Dean stood there a little while longer under the hot running water, before reaching for the soap. As he worked up a good lather, a smile appeared on his face and he thought to himself that he probably never would have thought that just nine bucks could so easily buy him a little bit of heavenly bliss.


End file.
